The Dominican Republic, March, 2005 Mar 10—19, 2005
Posted by Barry Lyon
Barry Lyon
Barry Lyon's passion for the outdoors and birding has its roots in his childhood where he grew up in southern California. Through his early years his developing interes...Related Trips
I love birding the Caribbean! Leading my fourth Dominican Republic tour in the last five years, I can say unequivocally that this year?s version was easily the best. Not only did we record more of the island endemics than ever before, but we were able to show our tour participants some of the world?s rarest and most critically threatened species.
With 31 endemic bird species, the Dominican Republic holds more than any other island in the Caribbean. Up to this year we have never recorded more than 24, but thanks to the addition of a pre-trip and scheduling our visit at a more optimum time of year, we came away with 27 of the island?s endemic birds! While any good trip will focus on more than just the endemic species, it is these birds that are the real draw, the reason that people will be interested in an island outpost like the Dominican Republic. Each day presented many highlights as we journeyed first to the northeast part of the country and then down to the southwest corner on the Haitian border.
Though there were numerous high points to our tour, the pinnacle was reached early on when we journeyed to Los Haitises National Park in search of the very rare and endangered Ridgway?s Hawk. For years, and on all previous trips to the Dominican Republic, we have only dreamed of the opportunity to see this nearly mythical bird. Believed to be down to no more than 140 individuals, and wiped out everywhere else on the island, their whereabouts were not even fully known or understood until the last two years. To be sure, seeing it was not a simple matter of driving right up to it. Rather, our journey, and everything that it involved, was a true adventure that any birder would have dearly appreciated.
Los Haitises is a little known place. Both remote and inaccessible, it is simply not a place anybody can haphazardly visit. Beginning in the bay town of Sabana de la Mar, we undertook our expedition by boat through a forest of towering mangroves—some of the best I?ve ever seen. Upon emerging from the mangroves, we found ourselves on stately Samana Bay with water so smooth that it was impossible to separate from the sky, as they seemingly merged on the distant horizon. For me, one of the chief attractions of the Dominican Republic is that it possesses the kind of natural scenery that is as equally appealing as the birds. As we motored along the southern shoreline of the bay, we were all astounded by the magnificent beauty of the landscape. Great hills of ragged limestone towered up to the south, and all covered with a dramatic and beautiful tropical forest. All the while birds were just everywhere. Frigatebirds, herons and egrets, and even a Brown Booby made our time in the boat magical.
Upon landing on a remote beach, and having the native fishermen for company, we undertook a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour hike (one way) through some of the most beautiful, rugged, and remote forest anywhere in North America. With visions of the hawk occupying our thoughts, it wasn?t until after we had seen the pair at a nest that we could truly appreciate all the other fantastic sights around us. The butterfly show was just extraordinary. It seemed like we were there at absolutely the peak time of year for them, and many, like the Great Tiger, were among the most beautiful I have ever seen.
Our time at Los Haitises would ultimately serve as a springboard to a very successful and exciting trip. Aside from the hawks, we encountered numerous White-necked Crows, a most peculiar bird with a ruby-red eye and a fascinating range of vocalizations. Antillean Piculets, generally one of the more difficult birds to actually spot, were seen extremely well also.
Once the main tour started, our luck held. Our morning visit to the National Botanic Gardens was spectacular. With lots of birds and attractive natural surroundings, this is the ideal place to serve as an introduction to the birds of the island. Hispaniolan Woodpeckers, Vervain Hummingbirds, and Mangrove Cuckoos were delightfully common, and merely complemented all the other species that formed our growing bird list. In the southwest corner of the country we enjoyed three days of stunningly successful birding.
Alcoa Road on the north side of the Bahoruco Mountains was as good as ever. Persistent searching turned up a lovely pair of Hispaniolan Crossbills, as well as Golden Swallows, Red-legged Thrush, and Scaly-naped Pigeons. The drive to this destination took us through Jaragua National Park, the largest park in the Caribbean, and home to a spectacular forest of cactus and thorn scrub.
Our trip concluded with two days of birding on the north side of this mountain range. If anything could have rivaled our experience with the Ridgway?s Hawk, it would have been our morning in the cloud forest. As our group huddled on the roadside in the minutes before the first light of day, we did so with great anticipation, for this morning on this road would be our first and only chance for two of the Dominican Republic’s most difficult birds, the La Selle Thrush and White-fronted Quail-Dove. As it began to get light, we almost immediately spotted a bird in the road. One lift of the binoculars was all it took to realize we were looking at the thrush! Watching for what must have been 20 minutes, the bird ultimately bounded to within 20 feet of us. Wow! What a shining moment. We could not relax long, however, for suddenly we were watching the quail-dove forage on the side of the road! What ensued could only be described as nearly stupefying. Over the next two hours we would see at least seven more quail-doves and two more thrushes. These are birds that are just not supposed to be seen like this! The whole morning was unforgettable, with the likes of Western Chat-Tanager, Hispaniolan Spindalis, and Hispaniolan Parrots putting on jaw-dropping shows. For a grand finale, we studied Hispaniolan Trogons at length, for the best views we have ever had of this bird on our tours here.
Our final morning in the field was no less impressive. Our eager and persistent group of participants made my job as a tour leader much easier, for it was Ron Huffman who discovered the Least Poorwill, and Doug Hannah who found us the Flat-billed Vireo. On that day alone we recorded several more island endemics, including Antillean Siskin and Hispaniolan Palm Crow.
This was a totally unforgettable trip, and one that I will look forward to repeating in 2007.